Aircraft list (and possible additions, in historical context)

[Avimimus]

2 hours ago, oscar said:

In fact, apart from the flyable P-51D Mustang to serve the Korean ground attack role, and the fact that  we already had the P-51 in the previous games IL-2 Korea, seems to lack a real dedicated ground pounder like the P-47 in IL-2 FB.

The F-80 and F-84 were also shifted into the ground attack role (I believe the F-84 made the largest number of ground attack sorties in the war). The Il-10 will also be available for that purpose. Many of us suspect that a Skyraider, F4U, and F9F will be available for ground attack as well (either in the first DLC or as Collector Planes). Of course, we won't know for sure unless they are announced.

[BlackSix]

17 hours ago, oscar said:

Im very dissapointed a flyable Douglas A-1 Skyraider isnt featured in the upcoming Il-2 Korea theatre. This airplane was used heavily in the Korean war, despite "just" being a propeller plane. In fact, apart from the flyable P-51D Mustang to serve the Korean ground attack role, and the fact that  we already had the P-51 in the previous games IL-2 Korea, seems to lack a real dedicated ground pounder like the P-47 in IL-2 FB. Dont get me wrong, Il-2 Korea looks very sweet and interesting, but given the fact that the IL-2 titles are expensive, (dont even get me started on the hefty price that can buy you a whole new place for addon planes, and the fact a flyable B-29 seems to be unlikely along the way i think i will pass on buying this one... 

This aircraft isn't the best candidate for inclusion in the basic aircraft set unless it comes with an carrier. There were only three Skyraider squadrons (VMA-121 and VMA-251 USMC + electronic countermeasure VMC-1 USMC), which were based on land airfields from the end of 1951 but these planes primarily operated from carriers.

[Mysticpuma]

19 hours ago, oscar said:

Im very dissapointed a flyable Douglas A-1 Skyraider isnt featured in the upcoming Il-2 Korea theatre. This airplane was used heavily in the Korean war, despite "just" being a propeller plane. In fact, apart from the flyable P-51D Mustang to serve the Korean ground attack role, and the fact that  we already had the P-51 in the previous games IL-2 Korea, seems to lack a real dedicated ground pounder like the P-47 in IL-2 FB. Dont get me wrong, Il-2 Korea looks very sweet and interesting, but given the fact that the IL-2 titles are expensive, (dont even get me started on the hefty price that can buy you a whole new place for addon planes, and the fact a flyable B-29 seems to be unlikely along the way i think i will pass on buying this one... 

An absolute must for this SIM is the Douglas Skyraider.

So let's start this reply with a few examples.

 

Throwing everything at the enemy, including the kitchen sink (literally).

And later went on to bomb the enemy (Vietnam) with a toilet 🙂

The Skyraider earned its stellar reputation during the Korean War with its famous torpedo attack against the Hwaechon Dam

https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/skyraiders-torpedo-the-hwachon-dam/

and successful employment in strike and close-air-support missions. Eventually it set a record carrying armament which consisted of four wing-mounted 20mm cannons and an additional weapons load of over 7,000 pounds, which could be varied among bombs, gun pods, napalm canisters and up to 12 rockets. This single engine aircraft could carry a bomb load heavier than that of the four engine B-17 and B-24 bombers.

The Skyraider was produced too late for use in World War II, but became the backbone of United States Navy aircraft carrier and United States Marine Corps strike aircraft sorties in the Korean War (1950–1953), with the first ADs going into action from Valley Forge with VA-55 on 3 July 1950. It's weapons load and 10-hour flying time far surpassed the jets that were available at the time. On 2 May 1951, Skyraiders made the only aerial torpedo attack of the war, hitting the Hwacheon Dam, then controlled by North Korea.

On 16 June 1953, a USMC AD-4 from VMC-1 shot down a Soviet-built Polikarpov Po-2 biplane, the only documented Skyraider air victory of the war. AD-3N and -4N aircraft carrying bombs and flares, flew night-attack sorties, and radar-equipped ADs carried out radar-jamming missions from carriers and land bases.

During the Korean War, AD Skyraiders were flown by only the US Navy and US Marine Corps, and were normally painted in dark navy blue. It was called the "Blue Plane" by enemy troops. Marine Corps Skyraiders suffered heavy losses when used in low-level close-support missions. To allow low-level operations to continue without unacceptable losses, a package of additional armor was fitted, consisting of 0.25–0.5 inches (6.4–12.7 mm) thick external aluminum armor plates fitted to the underside and sides of the aircraft's fuselage. The armor package weighed a total of 618 pounds (280 kg) and had little effect on performance or handling. A total of 128 Navy and Marine AD Skyraiders were lost in the Korean War – 101 in combat and 27 to operational causes. Most operational losses were due to the tremendous power of the AD: ADs that were "waved-off" during carrier recovery operations were prone to performing a fatal torque roll into the sea or the deck of the aircraft carrier if the pilot mistakenly gave the AD too much throttle.

So with that said about the aircraft, the reason I'd love to see this in game is it really was a backbone of ground strike operations, has an incredibly versatile load out, will be a challenge to fly but very rewarding and depending on the map size, will give players who want long flights, the ability to do so due to the range it has available. Further to that. Should there ever be a Vietnam expansion, this served through the campaign so it's ready made for inclusion.

Some reference material:

https://warhistory.org/@msw/article/douglas-ad-bt2d-a-1-skyraider-1945-1972-5-part-i

https://www.airvectors.net/ava1spad.html

And images 🙂

https://thejivebombers.com/2023/03/10/korean-war-skyraiders/

 

Respectfully requesting this bad boy takes to the skies of Korea.

Cheers, Mysticpuma.

Edited December 15, 2025 by Mysticpuma

[Avimimus]

It is worth noting that there are significant differences between the 1950s Skyraider and the 1970s Skyraider.

[Mysticpuma]

4 hours ago, Avimimus said:

It is worth noting that there are significant differences between the 1950s Skyraider and the 1970s Skyraider.

Pretty much the same for the Spitfire and Seafire....but they both have heritage 👍

[Melonfish]

Being an enormous navy flight nerd, it goes without saying, the panther, cougar, spad, corsair, and most certainly the Sea Fury are some I hope makes an appearance.

More than that I hope we get actual carrier ops.

[Avimimus]

Spad? Edit: Just remembered we're talking the Skyraider, right?

[Catch]

I think he meant the Pup. The Spad never flew on carriers or any other type of naval vessel as far as I'm aware.

[BlitzPig_EL]

The nickname for the Skyraider, especially in Viet Nam, was the SPAD, because it was an old fashioned prop plane in the world of jets.

[HAZA]

Ladies/Gents,

Link to video with US aircraft used in Korea, if you're interested.

Regards

 

 

 

 

[Avimimus]

I'm a little sad that such a complete list of U.N. aircraft left out the FAA and the inclusion of a mere four (or five) more aircraft could have included all of the U.N. forces aircraft, making the list complete. Instead an American only focus was chosen.

The video also leaves out the Avenger (which was used in anti-submarine and early warning patrols flying from carriers).

I also gather F9F-6 also seems to have missed the war?

Other than that - it is remarkably complete as a list.

P.S. The F7F was also used as a night bomber.

 

[GrumpyGnome]

The Avenger was also used to fly in supplies and evacuate wounded during the Chosin reservoir campaign.

[HAZA]

Not sure where else to post this clip, but thought some might enjoy!

 

[Stratos]

IIRC the real planes used to bomb TokoRi bridges were Banshees, not Panthers.

But IIRC both Panthers and Banshees would perform poorly against the 15Bis.

Edited December 27, 2025 by Stratos

[BlitzPig_EL]

It took some time for carrier based fighters to match the performance of their land based counterparts, all Zekes aside.

[Airborne2001]

So, obviously this wouldn't and shouldn't be done until all Korea-centered aircraft are included, but what are our thought and "Korea-adjacent" aircraft after everything else is implemented? This would be similar to what happened with Battle of Stalingrad where the Fw-190A3 wasn't used at Stalingrad, but people decided it would be a worthwhile addition anyway. For example:

MiG-9 (There was consideration for China to send them to Korea, but China decided on sending the MiG-15 instead and kept the MiG-9 for defense of places like Shanghai.)

IL-28 (They were kept in Manchuria as a deterrent, and North Korea got a few of them 1953 though it was only after the end of hostilities and used for a parade.)

F8F (This would be similar to the Fw-190 at Stalingrad I mentioned above. Bearcats almost made it to the Korean war, but most of them were either in the Atlantic or they went to the French for the contemporary Indochina war, among some other users.)

Other planes could be variants of aircraft used in Korea, like the base B-45 and B-50 for example. I'm not suggesting the B-36 or B-47 because I understand that the B-29 being modeled in a modern engine was already enough of a hassle. (Not a bad thing though! I understand that it is more difficult in the modern and more accurate game engines of today.)

 

[BlitzPig_EL]

I'd rather see aircraft that were actually used in Korea, before we go off on tangents.

[Airborne2001]

On 1/1/2026 at 4:37 PM, BlitzPig_EL said:

I'd rather see aircraft that were actually used in Korea, before we go off on tangents.

I agree which is why I said that lol.

Edited January 3 by Airborne2001

[migmadmarine]

On 1/1/2026 at 12:56 PM, Airborne2001 said:

So, obviously this wouldn't and shouldn't be done until all Korea-centered aircraft are included, but what are our thought and "Korea-adjacent" aircraft after everything else is implemented? This would be similar to what happened with Battle of Stalingrad where the Fw-190A3 wasn't used at Stalingrad, but people decided it would be a worthwhile addition anyway. For example:

MiG-9 (There was consideration for China to send them to Korea, but China decided on sending the MiG-15 instead and kept the MiG-9 for defense of places like Shanghai.)

IL-28 (They were kept in Manchuria as a deterrent, and North Korea got a few of them 1953 though it was only after the end of hostilities and used for a parade.)

F8F (This would be similar to the Fw-190 at Stalingrad I mentioned above. Bearcats almost made it to the Korean war, but most of them were either in the Atlantic or they went to the French for the contemporary Indochina war, among some other users.)

Other planes could be variants of aircraft used in Korea, like the base B-45 and B-50 for example. I'm not suggesting the B-36 or B-47 because I understand that the B-29 being modeled in a modern engine was already enough of a hassle. (Not a bad thing though! I understand that it is more difficult in the modern and more accurate game engines of today.)

 

As I recall there are claims of a couple of appearances La-15 in Korea as well, could be neat in a similar vein to the MiG-9, but I agree on the prioritizing of types that did see service in theater.